Katherine Garbera - After Midnight

She felt a little pang and ignored it. Of course, the thought of going back to the adversarial strangers they’d been hurt after last night. After sharing something with him she’d experienced with no other man. But it wasn’t going to happen again. Carter was a bad boy and not at all the kind of guy she was interested in trying to date. Besides, her life was a big-ass mess right now.

Lindsey sighed. Her clothes were scattered in the other room, and she needed to collect them, get dressed and beat a hasty retreat before he woke. But first she grabbed one of the robes from behind the door...because in the cold light of day walking around naked didn’t feel right.

She opened the door cautiously and heard the low rumble of Carter’s voice.

“Thank you very much.”

He was awake.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed, his back to her, his brown hair tousled and sticking up a little on the left side. He tossed the cordless phone onto the bed and stood. “I ordered breakfast.”

“I actually should probably be going,” she said hastily. “I feel like I’ve—”

“Where do you have to go? I know you’re not working today.”

“You do?” Her eyes widened. “How do you know that?”

“Because you were drinking and partying last night. I know you aren’t the type of person to ski after a night like that,” he said. “Take it from me, your concentration won’t be that great.”

“Have you done that? Snowboarded in that condition?”

“I have. I don’t recommend it.” There was a long pause. “Let me grab a robe and we can have breakfast, okay?”

She didn’t want to get to know Carter any better. Sure, she knew how that sounded, but the truth was, the more she knew him the bigger the chance of her starting to like him was. She didn’t want to change the dynamic between them that had worked so well for so long. She had figured out a way to manage him.

“I’m not sure.”

“Really? Now you’re running scared?” Crossing his arms over his bare chest, he flashed a taunting smile her way. “After all that we did to each other last night, this morning you want to retreat?”

She gave him the hardest stare she could muster. Given her headache she suspected it wasn’t as steely as she’d like. “I’m not a child to be swayed by a petty dare.”

“It wasn’t petty, gorgeous. It was a flat-out challenge. Prove you’re not a coward and stay.”

She rolled her eyes. This was the guy she had no chance of ever falling for... The one who needled her and tried to make her— “Fine. I’ll stay for breakfast.”

He nodded. “I’ll be right back.”

She walked over to the table set up in a corner of the suite with chairs that faced the plate-glass windows that provided a perfect panoramic view of the Wasatch Range. The mountains she knew like the palm of her hand. She’d skied all the different runs down that mountain. It was a constant to her. In fact, she’d trained there for so long it was like her home.

But it wasn’t anymore. And she knew that it wasn’t Carter she was angry with this morning. It wasn’t the mountain, either, although that big majestic thing did play a part in it. She was angry with herself. For falling and for failing. She’d never realized how much she’d let herself down. Hadn’t wanted to admit that to herself. As a matter of fact, she hadn’t been able to let those emotions out until this morning.

Coffee and breakfast weren’t going to sweeten her mood now. That she understood, so she got dressed as quickly as she could, gathered her clutch and her tiara and walked out the door before Carter came out of the bathroom.

She needed time and distance. Not the distraction that he provided.

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